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TheWatchdogBlog.org is published by Public Citizen's Congress Watch. We work to ensure that Congress represents citizens by exposing the harmful impact of money in politics and fighting for an improved democracy. We also champion consumer interests before the U.S. Congress and seek to preserve citizen access to the courts to redress corporate harm and negligence.

Fireworks, Barbecue and a Vote for DC

As we celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks, cookouts and a relaxing day off of work, the promise of our democracy remains unfulfilled for many.

More than half a million people live in the capital
of the United States without voting representation in Congress.
Citizens of the District of Columbia pay U.S. taxes, fight and die for
the U.S. during wartime, and are governed by the laws that Congress
passes. And yet, shockingly, DC citizens have only a non-voting
delegate in the House of Representatives.

This gross injustice could be righted soon - but we
need your help. The Senate is considering a floor vote on the DC Voting
Rights Act, which the House passed in April. There are some senators
who are considering blocking this bill, even after it passed overwhelmingly out of the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee. Senators have not blocked a
piece of voting rights legislation since the days of Jim Crow.
Now is not the time to turn back the clock.

Citizens in the District of Columbia don't have senators of their own to call, so they need you to stand up for them and our democratic values. Contact your senators today and urge them to vote for the DC Voting Rights Act!

We can't claim democracy for other countries or hope
to clean up Washington if taxpayers in the nation's capital continue to
be disenfranchised.

Let your senators know that it's high time that DC citizens have voting representation in Congress. It's the patriotic thing to do.